PREPARING FOR DANIEL FAST

In Matthew 17 a man brought his demon possessed son to the disciples. The disciples prayed for him and the demon did not come out. The man took his son to Jesus and told him that the disciples were not able to cure the boy. Jesus rebuked the demon and immediately the demon left the boy. The disciples asked Jesus "why could we not drive it out?" Jesus said to them "20 - because of the littleness of your faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 - But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." 

We all have mountains that are in our way. Some mountains are small and some are HUGE. Casting out demons has to be one of the biggest obstacles you could face. Being diagnosed with a terminal illness; having a loved one addicted to drugs and there are other HUGE mountains that get in our way. Those HUGE mountains require HUGE faith and fasting. If you really and truly want that mountain to move, you can't just whisper to it or spend 5 minutes a day praying about it or crying about it or whining about it, you get what I'm talking about. You have to get SERIOUS in order to see SERIOUS results. Spending time in prayer, reading your Bible and fasting is serious. You are honoring God by denying your fleshly desires for food and maybe giving up a little television time to spend more time in the Word and in prayer. 

If you have chosen to do a Daniel Fast (no bread, no meat & no sweets) here is a list of foods to have on hand: 

Apples and peanut butter

Nuts

Plain Greek yogurt with fruit (I love frozen blueberries)

Cottage cheese with fruit

Cheese

Carrot sticks

Beans

Rice

Veggies 

Beans & rice

Stir fries with rice & veggies and/or beans

Vegetable soup

Tomato soup

Salad

Oatmeal

Eggs

Quiche

Veggie omelet

Potatoes - don't forget sweet potatoes

Here are a few links to some of my recipes that can be used for a Daniel Fast. The Gumbo and soup can be made without the meat and still be delicious. 

http://4newtons.blogspot.com/2012/05/broccoli-cauliflower-salad.html

http://4newtons.blogspot.com/2012/05/anti-inflammatory-sugar-free-cole-slaw.html

http://4newtons.blogspot.com/2012/03/healthier-gumbo-with-flaxseed-coconut.html

http://4newtons.blogspot.com/2012/02/belly-busting-soup.html

http://4newtons.blogspot.com/2013/12/scalloped-potatoes.html

Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014. 

Keeping you all in my prayers, 

Lori 

FIRST FRUITS FAST

First of all, I AM NOT A BIBLE SCHOLAR. I am ONLY a sinner saved by grace. I am not worthy of God's grace, mercy, love & blessings, but I am so thankful that He gives it to ALL who are willing to accept it. That being said, the last few years, Kevin & I have fasted for 21 days at the beginning of each year. This is called a First Fruits Fast because you are sacrificing and honoring God for a certain length of time at the beginning of the year or giving God your "first fruits" of the new year. 

I have always loved our New Year's tradition of fried pork chops and black eye peas (with lots of ham in them) on New Year's Day, so we usually begin our Fast on January 2. But as I was talking with God about our upcoming Fast this morning, I felt that He was urging me to begin ON January 1 and not wait until January 2. My flesh wants those fried pork chops and that ham in the black eye peas just one more time, but my Spirit knows that if God is prompting me to begin ON January 1 and not wait, I would be foolish to not listen and obey. So our Fast will be from January 1-21. 

There are many different ways to fast. My son did a 40 day nothing but liquids fast a few years ago. He normally does only liquid the first 3-7 days, then follows the Daniel Fast. I have friends that fast one meal a day or do not eat from sun up to sundown, etc. There are many different ways to fast. There is not a right way or wrong way to fast. It is all between you and God. I urge you to seek His guidance and direction before you fast. Kevin & I and a lot of our friends choose a Daniel Fast which is no meat, no bread & no sweets. 

Whatever you choose to do, don't overthink it and don't spend more time focusing on what you can and can not eat than you do spending time with God. So many people get so caught up thinking about the food that they lose focus of the whole reason to fast in the first place which is to draw closer to God, to experience His presence like never before and for those miracles that you need in your life. 

I am going to try to blog each day during our Fast. I will try to share scriptures and encouragement for you as well as the types of foods that Kevin & I are eating. If you have a specific need that you would like for us to pray about for you, please let me know. Kevin & I would be honored to pray for you. If you are fasting, I would like to ask that you pray for us as well. 

I am posting some links to some websites about fasting. We love Jentezen Franklin's Fasting Journal. One of these websites has some good information, but I personally don't agree with all of it. But, again, it is between you & God. There is not a right way or wrong way to fast. This website has recipes for desserts, muffins, etc. and personally, I don't want to do that while fasting. She is not using flour, but I feel that fasting is not supposed to be pleasant and comfortable. It is supposed to be a sacrifice. We still eat good food, but the closest we get to bread is corn tortillas and as far as sweets we only eat fruit for our sweets when fasting. We also eat fish a couple of times a week while fasting, but no other meat. We also eat lots of eggs. I noticed some websites say to not eat eggs. We both work fulltime and have to keep our energy up, so eating eggs and fish helps us. 

http://www.jentezenfranklin.org/fasting/

http://www.ultimatedanielfast.com/

Many blessings, 

Lori 

SCALLOPED POTATOES

My husband's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. All he wanted for his birthday was scalloped potatoes, pork chops and red velvet cake (I make Non-Red Velvet Cake because I don't use red food coloring, but it doesn't change the taste of the cake). He LOVES potatoes and he loves cheese, so scalloped potatoes are his favorite. Through the years I have tried several different recipes and they were all okay, but a few years ago I used Pioneer Woman's recipe and now that is the ONLY recipe I use. I don't even like potatoes very much, but these are amazing! WARNING - THEY ARE NOT CALORIE FREE! But they are so worth splurging on for special occasions. I don't know what the difference is between scalloped and au gratin, but we just call them scalloped.

Here is a link to Pioneer Woman's recipe

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/perfect-potatoes-au-gratin/

Of course, I change it up a little to add the flavors that my family likes so here's how I do it:

SCALLOPED POTATOES

2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 large russet OR 8 red potatoes
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons McCormick Hot Shot or pepper
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded monterey jack
Option - cooked & chopped ham or bacon are great additions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice potatoes into circles or diced cubes. I use red potatoes because they are less starchy and have lots of iron, so since they are smaller, I just slice them in circles.

Combine milk and cream in bowl.

Add the flour, garlic, salt, pepper (Hot Shot), basil and onion.  Whisk together well so that the flour is incorporated into the mixture.

Grease square baking dish with the softened butter.  Pour potatoes into dish. Pour mixture over potatoes.

Cover the dish with foil and bake it for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for 20 minutes more.  Sprinkle the cheese all over the top and bake 5-10 minutes more or until cheese is bubbly.

TIPS FOR A BUSY WEEKNIGHT - I got these all ready in the morning before I left for work, covered with foil and put in refrigerator.  Kevin gets home an hour before I do, so he took the dish and set it on the counter to get to room temperature and turned the oven on.  Then all I had to do when I got home from work was pop the dish in the oven and let them bake while I cooked the pork chops. I think these could be cooked in a rectangular slow cooker also. I haven't tried it yet.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Lori

WHY YOU NEED ALPHA LIPOIC ACID (ALA)

Alpha Lipoic Acid has been, literally, a Godsend to me in getting my health back and freedom from pain, tingling and numbness. Back in 2011 when I decided it was time to take back my health, I prayed and talked to God pretty much 24/7 asking for Him to show me what I needed to do to get my health back. If you've read any of my blog posts then you know that He started revealing to me what foods to eat that would nourish my body and what "foods" to stay away from that were destroying my body. Well, during this time I also kept hearing "alpha lipoic acid" "alpha lipoic acid". I would hear it as I was driving down the road, as I was trying to go to sleep, it was the first thing that came into my mind as I awoke every morning. After a 2 or 3 weeks of this, I told my husband one day "I think God wants me to take Alpha Lipoic Acid". Kevin asked me what it was and I said "I don't know. I've never heard of it." So, I began to research alpha lipoic acid. And WOW! As I kept finding out more about this incredible antioxidant, I began to realize why God was telling me to take it. And right about now, some of you think I have lost my mind, but I know that others of you understand exactly what I'm talking about.

So, let me tell you about Alpha Lipoic Acid. It is a naturally occurring compound that's made in the body, but when you're system is out of whack, your body can not produce enough of it to help you. ALA is an antioxidant & is one of the most potent of all antioxidants because it is soluble in both water and fat. This unique ability to dissolve in both fat and water means that ALA has more "free range" to scrub your body for cell damaging free radicals. Here's just a few of the benefits of ALA:

*   Converts glucose to energy
*   Lowers blood sugar
*   Lowers blood pressure
*   Detoxes and protects the liver
*   REPAIRS DAMAGED NERVES

Europeans have been using ALA for years to provide relief from the pain, burning, tingling and numbness caused by neuropathy. Studies show that ALA aids in stopping or slowing the damage done by a variety of health conditions including HIV and liver disease.

Research also shows that ALA helps mend damage caused by strokes and even to help slow down the process of Alzheimer's.  It's ability to facilitate the regeneration of nerve cells has some very promising implications in brain and nerve trauma treatment.

ALA supports healthy skin as well. It keeps your skin young and resilient.

The American Cancer Society says that "ALA may inhibit genes that trigger cancer cells to grow and some recommend it as a component of an alternative anti-cancer regimen or as a complementary therapy to prevent or relieve some side effects of conventional cancer treatments. Researchers have begun to look at whether ALA can help prevent nerve damage from the use of chemotherapy drugs." 

ALA is found in red meats, organ meats, spinach and broccoli, but you would have to eat a ton of these foods every day to get what your body needs. So supplementation of ALA is crucial to stay healthy.

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/lipoic-acid

http://www.webmd.com/diet/alpha-lipoic-acid-ala

ALA has helped me tremendously with the pain, numbness & tingling from neuropathy and carpal tunnel.

 Blessings to you all,
Lori 

WHOLE GRAIN PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE WITH COCONUT SUGAR

My husband's appetite is back! The last 4 years he has not had much of an appetite. He said nothing tasted good to him and of course, being on dialysis, he didn't feel real good most of the time. Before he got sick, he had a huge appetite. And he has always had an enormous sweet tooth. One of his favorite cakes is Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I used to make it with Bisquick and lots of brown sugar. So, since we have cut back on processed foods and are trying to eat more nutritiously, I decided to try to make a more nutritious Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

First step was NO Bisquick. Then had to replace the brown sugar for a more nutritious option. I've posted several recipes using coconut palm sugar. My family loves it! And it is a good feeling to know that I am feeding them a sweet treat that is actually nutritious and not going to harm them. Coconut sugar has a low glycemic index so it is safe for diabetics. It is high in several minerals including potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Here is a link to a couple of good articles on coconut sugar.  http://www.naturalnews.com/030120_coconut_sugar_sweetener.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/280219-healing-benefits-of-coconut-palm-sugar/

WHOLE GRAIN PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup organic coconut palm sugar
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
1 - 15 1/4 ounce can crushed or sliced pineapple, drained

BATTER
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup organic coconut palm sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pineapple juice (from the crushed pineapple)

1 cup organic oat flour
1/2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk

1.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch round baking pan; heat in oven until melted.  Remove pan from oven and tilt pan to coat bottom and sides with butter.

2.   Mix coconut sugar, nutmeg & cinnamon together and sprinkle onto bottom of buttered pan.

3.    Spread pineapple over sugar mixture.

4.   For batter - in a large bowl, beat butter and coconut sugar until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla and pineapple juice.

5.   In another bowl, whisk flours, baking powder and salt together. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.  I do it in thirds.

6.   Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

7.   Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

I put 4 maraschino cherries on the cake for Kevin. He loves them, but he doesn't get them very often anymore. Now that we know about HFCS and red dye! Scary!
I know I don't take good pictures. Sorry. You can tell it doesn't look like your traditional pineapple upside down cake which is yellow or white. We have to get past that idea that white food is pretty. Most white food is not healthy. Whole grains have color and texture.

Pineapple upside down cake

VARIATIONS:
You can replace one of the flours for white flour if you don't like the texture of whole grain flours. But, please, use organic unbleached white flour.  At least it isn't loaded with chemicals like regular flour.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband did!

Blessings to you all,

Lori 

THE INCREDIBLE GIFT OF LIFE

It has been a wild 2 months, but we have seen God move mountains and have felt His presence in a very special way. So, here's our transplant story:

We received our first transplant call on Memorial Day weekend. Most transplants happen on holiday weekends, especially during summer holidays because of drinking and driving, boating accidents, etc. The hospital actually called us a few days before July 4th and told us to not go too far and keep close to the phone in case a kidney became available. Kevin even told his family that he couldn't go on their annual fishing/camping trip this year because he was expecting a kidney. July 4th came and went and no phone call. So we went on with dialysis as usual. Then on Sunday morning, July 14, 2013 we had our Bibles in our hands and getting ready to walk out the door for church when the phone rang. We looked at each other and smiled. We knew this was it. So I called the church and my dear friend, Teri, answered the phone. I told her we weren't going to make it today because we were going to get a new kidney. 

Kevin, Grant & I packed our bags quickly and took off for Oklahoma City. When we got to OU Medical they were waiting for us. They got Kevin in a room quickly and started working on all of the testing they have to do to make sure he is healthy enough for a transplant and if he is a good enough match for this particular kidney. The surgery happened on Monday, July 15 around 7:00 pm. Dr. Sebastian came and talked to Kevin's Mom, Dad & I around 1:00 a.m. or so and told us that the surgery went well. They moved him into ICU a little after 3:00 a.m. I could not believe how good he looked already! The nurse told us that Kevin was making jokes the whole time. She said he sure is funny. Yep, that's my hubby. He was in ICU 2 days where he was blessed to have some of the most amazing nurses. We got so attached to everyone there. Almost ALL of the staff, nurses, assistants, doctors, housekeeping, etc. at OU Medical are professional & knowledgeable, but also very compassionate. I'm not much on doctors or hospitals, but they really go above and beyond at OU Medical. Dr. Sebastian is the transplant surgeon. We LOVE this man! It was obvious the first time we met him that God called him to perform transplant operations. What a gift this precious man is to the State of Oklahoma.

His Dad stayed all week

Dr wrote Kevin speaks Redneck

Every nurse, doctor and medical staff member kept telling us all that day that this was a "beautiful very healthy" kidney. We felt so blessed to receive such an amazing gift, but at the same time, so sad that another family was dealing with losing a loved one. All that we know is that the donor was a young mother and that it was very unexpected. My heart breaks for her children, family and friends. I just have a feeling that she was a wonderful loving person. We thank God every day for this incredible gift and ask God to comfort her family and friends and to bless them and to let them know somehow how thankful we are. I pray that we never take this beautiful kidney for granted and always remember the price that was paid in order for Kevin to be healthy again. 

READY to go home

Leaving hospital

Kevin is doing fantastic! He went back to work 6 weeks after the surgery. His appetite is back and so is his sweet tooth. While on dialysis his phosphorus was always very high so he could not have much ice cream. HE LOVES ICE CREAM! That was probably one of the hardest things for him to do without. After the transplant, his phosphorus was low so the doctor told him to eat more dairy. So he started eating ice cream every day. Some days he was eating 3 bowls a day! He is on a lot of prescriptions and has to do bloodwork every week to monitor all of his levels. But, they have already cut way back on his medicine. We are praying and believing that he will be the healthiest transplant patient there has ever been.

We got all of the dialysis and medical equipment out of our house. Our house is no longer a dialysis clinic. Praise God! For 3 years medical equipment has taken over our home. It filled one bedroom (Cole's old bedroom), part of the dining room and living room. Plus Kevin kept some supplies at his work. We do not miss that at all!

Dialysis water, filters, etc.

Dialysis machine

                                                   

God has truly blessed us with some of the most amazing friends, church family and co-workers. We could not have made it the last 3 1/2 years without the Willinghams, Beanes, Twyfords, our entire church family, Kevin's co-workers and my co-workers. We are incredibly blessed to have all of these people in our lives.

Love & blessings to all,

Lori 

MY NEW LUNCH OBSESSION AND KNOW YOUR CHICKEN

As you know I try to eat as clean as possible. Being a busy working Mom & living in a small town, it is nearly impossible to eat 100% clean. I eat at least 80-85% clean. The absolute biggest chemical I REFUSE to eat is high fructose corn syrup. I am ashamed of our government for allowing HFCS to be in so many "foods" in the U.S. It is banned from most countries. Cole & Tiffany are still in Venezuala. They said that they have read the labels on the foods there and can not find HFCS in ANYTHING! But, Americans like to think that they are so much smarter than people in other countries. Believing that the government, USDA and FDA have your best interest in mind is NOT smart. It is all about money. If they really wanted what was best for Americans, they would do like other countries have done and ban HFCS, aspartame and hormones & antibiotics in milk to name a few. 

I have told you before how much I love Braum's. I'm not even an ice cream lover, so that is not why I love it so much. Braum's takes pride in the fact that they do not add hormones and antibiotics to their cows therefore NONE of their dairy products contain those nasty things. I buy as much groceries as I can at Braum's. I realize it is not organic, but I believe it is much better quality than other brands and it is cheaper than most brands, probably because there is no middle man. It goes straight from the Braum's farm to Braum's stores. Braum's has a new Chicken Strawberry Salad that I am obsessed with. It has chicken (grilled or crispy), strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, almonds, carrots, spinach and romaine. I have been eating this for lunch at least twice a week. It is only $5 & is a delicious & nutritious lunch. I drink a large lime water with it. Braum's employees squeeze the lime juice into the water instead of just tossing a lime in it.    http://www.braums.com/about-us/

I get really freaked out over fast food chicken. Really I freak out over some restaurant chicken also. Chicken can be one of the most processed, chemically laiden foods their is. Educate yourself. Know what you are eating. Braum's uses REAL chicken. It's not processed chicken product like so many restaurants use. For instance Subway's chicken is very little chicken. It is mostly chemicals and most of their breads have either HFCS or corn syrup along with a long list of chemicals. And Subway has Americans believing that it is one of the healthiest places you can eat. That is false advertising in my book. They should have to disclose that their "meats" and breads are nothing but chemicals. Here's a link to their ingredient list which looks like a horror movie to me. 

http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/usProdIngredients.pdf

We do not have a Chick-fil-A where I live. I wish we did. They only serve REAL chicken. I was appalled to learn that all of KFC's chicken has MSG! Really?! MSG causes migraines for many people and creates inflammation in the body. 

Here is a link to Chick-fil-A talking about the chicken they use. 

http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Ingredients

Here is a picture of my yummy Braum's salad. 

This beautiful nutritious salad comes with Poppy Seed Dressing which I do not eat. The first ingredient in the dressing is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! Why do they have to do that?! I bring my own dressing from home to put on my salad.

Educate yourself, friends. Know what you are putting in your body and what you are feeding your children. God wants us to take good care of our bodies. He put food on the earth to nourish our bodies. Eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs (from free range chickens) and wild game and fish. If the ingredient list is a mile long and/or you can not pronounce most of the ingredients, don't buy it. There are better choices out there. If we stop buying the nasty stuff and buy more of the good stuff, food companies will get the message.

Blessings to all,
Lori